Gongmen City
Gongmen City (宫门城 in ) is a vast, peaceful located somewhere along the southern coast of China. Once under the rule of the Peacocks, it was left under the protection of the Kung Fu Council after the banishment of the city throne's single heir, Lord Shen. The ambitious peacock placed the city under strict imprisonment in Kung Fu Panda 2 with the aid of his new weapon and army, but was liberated by Po and the Furious Five with the aid of Masters Croc, Storming Ox, and Shifu. Within the city lies the Peacocks' ancestral palace, a jail once used as a training school, a factory for the manufacturing of fireworks, and a harbor. History Beginnings For ages beyond counting, the peacocks ruled over Gongmen City. They brought joy and prosperity in the form of fireworks. However, Lord Shen, next in line to rule the city, sought to weaponize his family's invention. His troubled parents consulted the court soothsayer, who foresaw that if Shen continued his dark pursuits, he will be defeated by a "Warrior of Black and White". Shen overheard the prophecy, believing it referred to the s living in the Panda Village and led a raid to exterminate them all. When he returned home, his horrified parents banished him from Gongmen City, never to return. But Shen vowed to return and reclaim what is rightfully his. Sometime after Shen's banishment, stewardship of the city was passed over to the Kung Fu Council, headed by Masters Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox and Croc. In Kung Fu Panda 2 arriving at his old home]] Thirty years later, Shen returned to reclaim Gongmen City. Though the Council was confident that their Kung Fu was sufficient enough to defeat the arrogant peacock and his wolves, Shen unveiled a cannon that killed Thundering Rhino. He then forced Storming Ox and Croc to surrender by threatening to turn his weapon on the city. The takeover of Gongmen City was swift. Shen's wolves were given free rein to harass the innocents of the city, as well as collect any metal to construct more cannons. None too soon, word of Gongmen's fall reached the Valley of Peace. The Furious Five and Po, the new Dragon Warrior, were dispatched to liberate the city and bring Shen to justice. But their initial infiltration of the city did not go so smoothly, as they were discovered soon after entering. They were able to evade the wolves long enough to track down Storming Ox and Croc imprisoned in Gongmen Jail, having been tipped off by a grateful sheep they had rescued from a wolf's wrath. However, Ox and Croc refused to leave their cell, and Po and the Five were forced to leave when they were rediscovered by Boss Wolf and his minions. After an intense chase through the city, Po and the Five were eventually captured and brought into the Tower of the Sacred Flame. The skirmish that followed led to the tower's destruction. Furious that Po had escaped, Shen ordered the wolves to prepare the cannons for his upcoming conquest, and every wolf in the city was signalled to return to the fireworks factory to begin preparation. As Po had let Shen escape from the tower due to a sudden flashback, Tigress told Po to remain in Gongmen Jail with Ox and Croc while the five infiltrated the factory to stop Shen and gain answers about his past. However, Po disobeyed Tigress and infiltrated the factory himself, foiling the Five's attempt to destroy the building in the process. While the warriors desperately fought off the vast number of wolves, Po battled Shen until the peacock was able to blast him out of the factory with his largest cannon. As soon as Shen was sure that he had killed the Dragon Warrior, he captured the Five and assembled his army to conquer China. However, Po was revealed to survived and works to free the Five, before battle is joined by Storming Ox, Croc, and Shifu. The resulting battle culminated in the dissolution of Shen's army and the death of the peacock himself, thus freeing Gongmen City. The citizens of the city cheered as fireworks from Shen's flagship decorate the sky. Design and Architecture Coming soon! Notable Locations Tower beta.png|Tower of the Sacred Flame|link=Tower of the Sacred Flame FireworkFactoryConcept.jpg|Fireworks Factory|link=Fireworks Factory PoFiveJail2.PNG|The city jail|link=Gongmen Jail GongmenCityHarbor.jpg|The city harbor|link=Gongmen Harbor Trivia *The city's name roughly translates into English as "palace gate" or "palace door" city ( : 宫门; : 宮門; : gōngmén). *The city's design of a metropolis with a port had inspiration taken from popular Chinese cities such as and . The building designs also took inspiration from the architectural details in the ancient city of .Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. The Art of Kung Fu Panda II, p. 105. : *Some doorways in the city have the traditional Chinese character 運 ( : 运; : yùn) painted on them. Art director Tang Kheng Heng explains that "this marking is the Chinese character 'luck,' which, when displayed in front of a house, is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to those within."Miller-Zarneke, Tracey. The Art of Kung Fu Panda II, p. 107. : *Some buildings' rooflines have carved characters perched on top of them. Heng explains that "the rabbit riding on the rooster is a symbol for the ruler of the town, which means 'he or she must be good to his or her subjects.'" Gallery GongmenCityMarket.jpg|Concept artwork of the city market by Ritche Sacilioc SequenceConcept3.jpg|City sequence concept artwork by Mike Yamada Photo-Kung-Fu-Panda-2-2010-32.jpg Gongmen2.jpg GongmenCity2.PNG Gongmen city.png|Po and the Five planning to infiltrate the city References Category:Locations Category:Film Locations Category:Video Game Locations Category:Cities